Hi I’m a 20F and just did my makeup. My mom was never into makeup so I wasn’t exposed to makeup when I was younger. Now that I have started to lose weight and have started to become more confident, I have started exploring makeup. However, I feel so overwhelmed. It’s really hard for me to get feedback on my makeup because my mom really doesn’t care about makeup. I am very overwhelmed with YouTube tutorials. Do I have to do glamorous makeup every day or should I go natural and do I have to use all the products used by beauty youtubers? It’s so confusing: (I really want to improve myself in makeup though, I feel like I always look horrible when I put on makeup and look like a clown or my skin has it. looks weird and textured. Seems like everyone, even people younger than me are so much better and I don’t want to look like a kid who just discovered makeup. I would appreciate any advice or encouragement. Thanks!
Hey! The makeup world can be overwhelming – I certainly was overwhelmed when I started getting into it. My super-into-makeup friend was floored when I asked her to explain contouring, baking, etc to me.
As far as what type of look you *have* to do everyday, well, there is none! Do what makes you happy/comfortable. If you wanna rock a glam look one day, go for it! If you find that you like a more natural look, that’s fine too! Personally, I like a more natural look that includes a tinted moisturizer, brow gel, blush, highlighter, and mascara. I might use concealer if I didn’t get enough sleep or am dealing with a breakout, but the concealer I use provides a lighter, more natural coverage.
I’ve found that a lot of beauty youtubers use faaaar too much of everything, and don’t create looks that would look good out of their lighting/off camera (example; drawing big triangles of concealer on when they barely have anything to cover anyway, or literally painting on foundation with a flat foundation brush). You’ll hear that you have to use a primer or you have to bake or use powder when that’s absolutely not the case. If you want a full face to last through a night out or something, definitely use a primer, but for day to day, as long as you have a good skincare routine in place it shouldn’t be necessary.
What could also help ease you into it is just starting with certain products. Like, get used to seeing yourself with mascara and blush. Once that feels more normal, you could try incorporating light eyeshadow looks.
Ultimately, it’s going to take some time to get used to your face with makeup. It will also take some trial and error to find shades of blush/bronzer/whatever you want that work with your skin tone. I used to think I hated blush, but I had only ever tried super pinky ones (which I still hate on me lol). After getting a more peachy blush, it’s been a staple in my daily routine, and I don’t feel clowny at all.
Makeup should be fun, not stressful, and about self-expression, so if a trend or style doesn’t resonate with you, there’s no need to jump on the bandwagon. I hope this rambling helps a little bit haha
I was in a similar position to you, only started using makeup when I was about 22. I started with just mascara, concealer, and blush. And that’s still what I wear on most days, but over time I slowly started adding different products. You don’t have to do everything at once!
Just slow down. Take a deep breath. The world of makeup IS intimidating! Why don’t you concentrate on one part of the face at a time. Get the hang of it and go on to the next product. It’s up to you where you want to start. There is no right or wrong…unless you want to put lipstick on your eyebrows!
“Glam”. I’d never heard that term until I started reading this forum about a year ago. And what is glam to one may be every day to another. I suppose I go “glam” every time I leave the house. I just consider it putting on full face of makeup whether I’m going to WM or out to eat. I may just intensify the look a bit more to go out to eat and I may not. I wear it all. If it’s an emergency and I just don’t have time for a full face, my must have is mascara, lipgloss and perfume.
Don’t forget your makeup’s prep and prime. If you choose to do eyes first, don’t forget eyeshadow primer. If you go with foundation first, don’t forget a primer and undereye concealer if you need it.
Watch YT on each item you decide to apply, not the whole face at once. You’ll go nuts! Good luck!
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I was around your age when I started experimenting with makeup myself. My household had been “makeup-free” for years, so I also jumped in with no clue what to start from. I skipped all the foundation-primer-concealer boring stuff and focused on one thing that sparked joy in me – eyeshadow. My advice would be to start small and practice using an item that makes you happy the most, then expand your repertoire.
Another thing to remember is that all skin is “weird and textured”. Everyone has textured skin. You just don’t notice it everyday, because you’re not glued to your friend’s faces with a magnifying glass every time you meet them.
Lastly, you are not at fault for being a beginner. Allow yourself to fail and find out what does and what doesn’t work for you. Only then you’ll be able to grow. Comparing yourself to others is going to hinder this process a lot, as in any skill you learn. Instead of comparing, look into ways you can learn from others. On a side note, ditch social media for a couple days to detox, it helps a lot with self-worth and confidence.
I believe in you. You will cartainly get better the more you practice.
First, if you need any help feel free to message me! I can recommend any tips or videos! I’ve been playing with makeup ever since I was 13 so I’ve had some practice. One thing I would suggest is practicing makeup outside of applying it when you go out. So if you’re ever bored or want to kill time play around with some products or looks! There’s less pressure to make it look perfect since you’re not going out in public and it really encourages exploration and creativity. Starting out, instead of searching for videos on how to do full looks focus on a certain area of the face or product. You could look at videos on how to properly fill in your brows, different types of brow products, brow shapes, etc. This might help make things less intimidating since you’re taking it step by step. Trying to follow full makeup looks can be daunting so start small! It’s also really important to look at technique in application so paying attention to those little things just makes it easier for you in the long run 🙂
I was in a similar position as you. My mom *never*, and i mean never, wore makeup, so the first time for my homecoming- we went out and bought an expensive full-coverage foundation and concealer that was definitely too dark for me, even thought it was recommended by the lady in the store. I’m now really into makeup, and I honestly love it so much, even though i got off to a rocky start. Here’s just some of the stuff I wish I new when I started out:
1. Less is more: especially now in the age of natural glam, try going for your-skin-but better products. Undone Beauty, Milk, Ilia, Kosas, and Glossier are some of the best to try.
2. Higher price DOES NOT mean higher quality: some drugstore products have floored me more than any high-end ones. Especially when ur starting out, try going for drugstore- so u can experiment w/o breaking the bank.
3. Your skin is unique: find your undertones, find your skin type, which products look best with your hair color, eye color, etc. Not all products are made for all people. Find what works for you.
4. Take beauty gurus with a grain of salt, and don’t set your expectations to theirs: they have lighting, editing, and photoshop galore. There is no way you are going to end up looking like them, which is totally ok- but remember they are trying to sell you these products.
TL;DR: do whats best for you, and experiment. making mistakes is ok! hope that helps and feel free to ask more questions 🙂
hey there. i’m turning 17 in a little less than a month, and i started getting into makeup at 14. thankfully, i had a friend who knew quite a bit and helped me out the first time i bought. if you want a brand recommendation, i say use colourpop- they are very affordable and super good quality. i started off with focusing more on concealing my face, maybe brush out my eyebrows a bit, and that’s it. eventually, i started using my colourpop yes please palette and that was my real start to enjoying makeup. i also had to blue moon palette which got me into more bold looks. now, i absolutely love doing “extra” makeup, but i’ll go natural most days.
my advice is start slow. start with trying to modify your face to your desired outcome. if you want a more chiseled face, contour. if you want to look more sunkissed, bronzer. if you want more rosier cheeks, blush. if you want a combination of the three, use a combination of what i just mentioned. once you get that down, maybe try more natural eyeshadow looks. oranges, browns, peaches, and reds really help with this. after that, try bolder eyeshadow looks if you want after that, maybe even try lashes. same thing can apply to lips- start with subtle nude colours and then go for bolder colours if you’re up to it. most people don’t get this far and just wanna do natural looks, which is totally fine, go for that if it makes you feel good. just remember to have fun while doing any of this 🙂
oh and for the record, things like baking and priming are not necessary, but they do help keep your makeup long lasting.
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If you haven’t worn makeup up until this point, you must have wonderful skin. And the good news is, you don’t have bad habits to undo.
At a minimum, I recommend a good skin care regimen and foundation as these protect your skin from the elements and from aging and apparently, our skin starts aging (or being damaged) around our late teens. Other than that, I’m in my 40s and have great skin. I like a full look (glam:))but typically just run out in foundation, lipstick and mascara. You can experiment with a single eyelid color or two. But yes, the YTubers go the distance bc they apparently love being on camera but a lot of times the get free makeup from companies for advertising their brand. I recently started selling Mary Kay bc their skin care line is amazing but I’m happy to send you samples to see what looks you like. They come on cards that show you what to do. No obligation or spam list. You can PM me your address and I’ll send it in the mail. Free to anyone who is interested as well